Norway's New Round of Oil and Gas Block Exploration Rights Applications Attracts 21 Companies

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 11, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy announced the applications for the 2026 new round of offshore oil and gas blocks, with a total of 21 companies submitting applications for exploration and development rights, including Shell, Equinor, Aker BP, ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies, Vår Energi, DNO, Harbour Energy, INPEX Idemitsu, and Repsol. The application deadline was September 1, and the Norwegian government plans to announce the block award results in the first quarter of 2027.

This round of applications covers areas in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea where oil and gas activities have already been opened. Compared with 2025, Norway has added 70 new blocks or partial blocks available for companies to apply for, including 22 additional blocks in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea, and 38 in the Barents Sea.

In addition to the above companies, applicants also include Concedo, Japex Norge, Kistos Energy Norway, Lime Petroleum, OKEA, OMV Norge, ORLEN Upstream Norway, Pandion Energy, Petrolia NOCO, Source Energy, and Wellesley Petroleum. The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has not yet announced how many blocks each company applied for or the locations of the applied blocks.

The companies have submitted applications for offshore oil and gas block exploration and development rights. Only after obtaining government approval may companies carry out oil and natural gas exploration, drilling, and subsequent development activities within the designated blocks in accordance with the approved conditions. Companies may apply individually or form cooperative teams to jointly apply for blocks.

The Norwegian government will subsequently review the geological understanding, exploration plans, technical capabilities, and project implementation plans submitted by the companies, and determine the companies awarded blocks, the operators, and the participating parties. The submission of applications by these 21 companies is part of the application stage prior to block allocation, and the specific exploration blocks and company interests will be announced in the first quarter of 2027.